Vacuum cleaner

ABSTRACT

A vacuum cleaner, including a cleaner body; and a dust collector provided in the cleaner body, wherein the dust collector includes a first cyclone provided within an outer case to filter foreign matter and dust from air introduced into the dust collector; a second cyclone accommodated within the first cyclone to separate fine dust from the air introduced into the first cyclone; and a rotatable shell provided at a lower side of the first cyclone so as to define a first storage section configured to collect foreign matter and dust filtered by the first cyclone between the rotatable shell and the outer case, and wherein the rotatable shell includes a roller facing a lower cover that covers a lower opening of the outer case, the other configured to contact the foreign matter and dust collected in the first storage section during the rotation of the rotatable shell.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to KoreanApplication No. 10-2016-0054853, filed on May 3, 2016, and KoreanApplication No. 10-2016-0108414, filed on Aug. 25, 2016, whose entiredisclosures are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a vacuum cleaner configured to collectforeign matter, dust and fine dust in a separate manner through amulti-cyclone.

2. Background

A vacuum cleaner uses suction power to filter and collect foreignmatter, e.g., debris, dust, fine dust, ultra fine dust and the likecontained in the sucked air. The types of vacuum cleaners may be dividedinto i) a canister type, ii) an upright type, iii) a hand type, iv) acylindrical floor type, and the like.

The canister type vacuum cleaner includes a suction head and a cleanerbody separated from each other. An upright type vacuum cleaner may havea structure in which a suction head is integrally formed into a cleanerbody. A vacuum cleaner disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open PublicationNo. 10-2003-0081443 (published on Oct. 17, 2003), includes amulti-cyclone structure, each cyclone is vertically provided, whichincreases the height of a dust collector. The dust collector may bedesigned to have a slim profile to solve such a height increase issue,but the slim profile causes reduction in the volume of a space forcollecting dust.

In order to solve the foregoing problem, a second cyclone is disclosedin Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2004-0023417 (published onMar. 18, 2004), which is provided within a first cyclone. However, it isdifficult to efficiently place the second cyclone within the firstcyclone due to interference between the guide passages provided in eachsecond cyclone. Even when the second cyclone is provided within thefirst cyclone, the number of second cyclones may significantly decreaseto reduce suction power, thereby resulting in the deterioration ofcleaning performance.

In addition, a variety of flows including a high-speed rotation flow dueto the suction power of a fan module are mixed within a dust collector.Such a complicated flow may be an obstacle to collect foreign matter ina first storage section, and causes a problem in which dust collected inthe first storage section may be floating and flow back in an upwarddirection.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2004-0023417 (published onMar. 18, 2004), discloses a solution to prevent the scattering offoreign matter stored in the first storage section below the firstcyclone. Further, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No.10-2014-0009551 (published on Jan. 22, 2014), discloses additionalcyclone structures. The above references are incorporated by referenceherein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional oralternative details, features and/or technical background.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer to likeelements wherein:

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a vacuum cleaneraccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a dust collectorillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in which the dust collector illustratedin FIG. 2 is taken along line A-A;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the dust collector illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 illustrates the dust collector of FIG. 2 from a lower side in astate that an outer case thereof is removed;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the dust collector illustrated inFIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a view in which the variance of shapes of foreign matterstored in a first storage section are compared according to whether ornot there exists a roller portion;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a modified example of a guide unit;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the dust collector illustrated inFIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating another example of the dustcollector illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view illustrating an inner side of portion “B”illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating portion “B” illustratedin FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a conceptual view illustrating a modified example of arotatable shell illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is an orthogonal view of the dust collector illustrated in FIG.13;

FIG. 15 is a view explaining a structure in which a driving force of adrive motor is transmitted to a rotatable shell by a driving forcetransmission unit;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the dust collector illustrated inFIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating that an upper cover is separated from adust collector illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 18 is a view in which an inlet side of the upper cover illustratedin FIG. 17 is seen;

FIG. 19 is a view in which an outlet side of the upper cover illustratedin FIG. 17 is seen;

FIG. 20 illustrates a bottom side of the upper cover illustrated in FIG.17;

FIG. 21 is a view illustrating a flow current in the upper coverillustrated in FIG. 17;

FIG. 22 is a view illustrating a modified example of the upper coverillustrated in FIG. 17;

FIG. 23 illustrates an inlet side of the upper cover illustrated in FIG.22;

FIG. 24 illustrates an outlet side of the upper cover illustrated inFIG. 22;

FIG. 25 illustrates a bottom side of the upper cover illustrated in FIG.22;

FIG. 26 is a view illustrating a flow current in the upper coverillustrated in FIG. 22;

FIG. 27 is a view illustrating another example of a dust collectorillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 28 is a view in which an inner case, a rotatable shell and a lowercover illustrated in FIG. 27 are separated;

FIG. 29 is a view in which the rotatable shell illustrated in FIG. 28 isseen from the bottom;

FIG. 30 is a side view illustrating the rotatable shell illustrated inFIG. 29;

FIG. 31 is a plan view illustrating the rotatable shell illustrated inFIG. 29;

FIG. 32 is a view illustrating a configuration in which a stationaryring is coupled to the inner case illustrated in FIG. 28;

FIG. 33 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the lower coverillustrated in FIG. 28;

FIG. 34 is a view illustrating a configuration in which the lower coveris closed in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 32;

FIGS. 35 and 36 are views in which a first modified example of therotatable shell illustrated in FIG. 28 is seen from differentdirections;

FIG. 37 is a plan view illustrating the rotatable shell illustrated inFIG. 35;

FIG. 38 is a bottom view illustrating the rotatable shell illustrated inFIG. 35;

FIGS. 39 and 40 are views in which a second modified example of therotatable shell illustrated in FIG. 28 is seen from differentdirections;

FIG. 41 is a plan view illustrating the rotatable shell illustrated inFIG. 39; and

FIG. 42 is a bottom view illustrating the rotatable shell illustrated inFIG. 39.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a vacuum cleaner 1 may include a cleaner body 10, asuction unit or head 20, a connection unit or tube 30, a wheel unit (orwheels) 40, and a dust collector 100. The cleaner body 10 may have a fanmodule that generates suction power. The fan module may include asuction motor and a suction fan rotated by the suction motor to generatesuction power.

The suction unit 20 may suck air below or adjacent to the suction unit20. The air sucked by the suction unit 20 may contain foreign matter.The connection unit 30 may be connected to the suction unit 20 and thedust collector 100, respectively, to transfer air containing foreignmatter sucked through the suction unit 20 to the dust collector 100. Theconnection unit 30 may be a flexible hose or pipe.

The wheel unit 40 may be rotatably coupled to the cleaner body 10 tomove or rotate the cleaner body 10. For example, the wheel unit 40 mayinclude main wheels and auxiliary wheels. The main wheels may berespectively provided at both sides of the cleaner body 10, and theauxiliary wheels may support the cleaner body 10 together with the mainwheels and assist the movement of the cleaner body 10 by the mainwheels.

The dust collector 100 may be detachably coupled to the cleaner body 10.The dust collector 100 may separate foreign matter from the sucked air,collect the separated foreign matter and discharge the filtered air.

A vacuum cleaner in the related art has a structure in which aconnection unit is connected to a suction unit formed in the cleanerbody, and the sucked air is introduced into a dust collector through aflow guide extended from the suction unit to the dust collector. Thesucked air is introduced into the dust collector 100 by the suctionpower of the fan module, but there is a problem that suction powerdecreases as the such air passes through the flow guide of the cleanerbody.

On the contrary, the vacuum cleaner 1 of the present embodiment may bedirectly connected to the dust collector 100 as illustrated in thedrawing. According to such a connection structure, air sucked throughthe suction unit 20 may be introduced directly into the dust collector100, and thus suction power may be enhanced as compared to related art.Furthermore, there may be an advantage that the formation of a flowguide within the cleaner body 10 is not required.

For reference, the dust collector 100 applied to a canister type vacuumcleaner 1 is illustrated in the present drawing, but the dust collector100 of the present disclosure may not be necessarily limited to thecanister type vacuum cleaner 1. The dust collector 100 may be alsoapplicable to various vacuum cleaners such as an upright type vacuumcleaner and a robot cleaner.

Hereinafter, various examples of the dust collector 100 having a newstructure will be described around an overall configuration of the dustcollector 100 and a flow in the dust collector 100. Referring to FIGS. 2and 3, external air sucked by suction power generated from the fanmodule of the vacuum cleaner 1 may be introduced into the dust collector100 through an inlet 140 a′ of the dust collector 100. The airintroduced into the dust collector 100 may be sequentially filtered in afirst cyclone 110 and a second cyclone 120 and discharged to an outsideof the dust collector 100 through an outlet 140 b″. Foreign matter,dust, and fine dust separated from air by the first and second cyclones110, 120 may be collected in the dust collector 100.

A cyclone may produce a vortex in air in which particles are floating toseparate the particles from the air by a centrifugal force. The cyclonemay separate foreign matter, dust, and fine dust from the air introducedinto the cleaner body 10 by suction power. In the present specification,a relatively large dust is referred to as a “dust”, a relatively smalldust is referred to as a “fine dust”, and a dust smaller than the “finedust” is referred to as a “ultrafine dust”.

The dust collector 100 may include an outer case 101, the first cyclone110, and the second cyclone 120. The outer case 101 may accommodate thefirst and second cyclones 110, 120 and form a side surface appearance ofthe dust collector 100. The outer case 101 may be formed in acylindrical shape as illustrated in the drawing, but the presentdisclosure may not be necessarily limited thereto.

An upper cover 140 may be mounted on the outer case 101 to cover thefirst and second cyclones 110, 120. The upper cover 140 may include anintake guide 140 a and an exhaust guide 140 b of the dust collector 100,respectively. The intake guide 140 a may extend toward an innercircumference of the outer case 101 in such a manner that the sucked airis tangentially introduced into the outer case 101 and circulates alongan inner circumference of the outer case 101.

The first cyclone 110 may be installed within the outer case 101. Thefirst cyclone 110 may be provided at an upper portion within the outercase 101. The first cyclone 110 may filter foreign matter and dust fromthe air introduced into the outercase 101 and further introduce the airfrom which foreign matter and dust have been filtered into the firstcyclone 110.

The first cyclone 110 may include a housing 111 and a mesh filter 112.The housing 111 may form an outer appearance of the first cyclone 110,and may be formed in a cylindrical shape similar to the outer case 101.The housing 111 may include a support portion 111 a that couples withthe outer case 101 so as to protrude in a radial direction. For example,the support portion or vane 111 a may protrude on an upper portion ofthe housing 111 along an outer circumference thereof, and the supportportion 111 a may be coupled to an upper portion of the outer case 101.

The housing 111 may be vacant thereinside to accommodate the secondcyclone 120. An outer circumference of the housing 111 may be formedwith opening portions communicating with an inside thereof. The openingsmay be formed at a plurality of positions along an outer circumferenceof the housing 111.

The mesh filter 112 may be provided in the housing 111 to cover theopening portions, and have a mesh or porous shape allowing air to passtherethrough. The mesh filter 112 may separate foreign matter and dustfrom air introduced into the housing 111.

A size criterion for distinguishing between dust and fine dust may bedetermined by the mesh filter 112. A small dust passing through the meshfilter 112 may be classified a “fine dust,” and a large dust that isunable to pass through the mesh filter 112 may be classified as a“dust.”

Considering a process of separating foreign matter and dust by the firstcyclone 110 in detail, air containing foreign matter, dust and fine dustmay be introduced into an annular space between the outer case 101 andthe first cyclone 110 through an outlet 140 a″ (refer to FIG. 20) of theintake guide 140 a to be swirled by air in the annular space. During theprocess, relatively heavier foreign matter and dust may gradually flowdownward while the air swirls in a spiral manner in a space between theouter case 101 and the first cyclone 110 by a centrifugal force, and maybe collected in the first storage section (D1) which will be describedlater.

On the other hand, unlike foreign matter and dust, air may be introducedinto the housing 111 through the mesh filter 112 by suction power. Atthis time, fine dust relatively lighter than dust may be introduced intothe housing 111 along with air.

Referring to FIG. 3, an internal structure of the dust collector 100 anda flow of air within the dust collector 100 are seen. The second cyclone120 may be provided in the first cyclone 110 to separate fine dust fromair introduced thereinto through the entrance port 120 a. As illustratedin the drawing, a plurality of second cyclones 120 may be providedtherein. A central axis of the second cyclones 120 may be arranged inparallel to that of the first cyclone 110.

Contrary to a vertical arrangement of the related art in which thesecond cyclone is provided above the first cyclone, the second cyclone120 of the present disclosure may be accommodated into the first cyclone110 to decrease a height of the dust collector 100. The second cyclone120 may not protrude above the first cyclone 110.

In addition, the second cyclone in the related art may have a guidepassage extending from one side thereof such that air and fine dust istangentially introduced thereinto to circulate along an innercircumference of the second cyclone, but the second cyclone 120 of thepresent disclosure may not have such a guide passage. Therefore, thesecond cyclone 120 may have a circular shape when seen from the top.

Referring to FIG. 3, cyclones provided adjacent to each other among thefirst and second cyclones 110, 120 may define a first space S1. In otherwords, in a region where the second cyclone 120 is provided within thefirst cyclone 110, a vacant space excluding the second cyclone 120 maybe understood as a first space (S1). The first space (S1) may form apassage through which air and fine dust introduced into the firstcyclone 110 can be introduced into an upper portion of the secondcyclone 120.

Each of the second cyclones 120 may be provided along a verticaldirection, and a plurality of the second cyclones 120 may be providedparallel to each other. According to such an arrangement, the firstspace (S1) may extend in a vertical direction within the first cyclone110.

The second cyclones 120 may be in contact with each other. Specifically,a (circular) conical casing 121 forming an outer appearance of any oneof the second cyclones 120 may be in contact with a casing 121 of theadjacent second cyclone 120 to form a first space (S1) surrounded by thecasing 121.

The casing 121 of any one of the second cyclones 120 may be integrallyformed with the casing 121 of the adjacent second cyclone 120. Accordingto the above structure, a plurality of second cyclones 120 may bemodularized and provided in the first cyclone 110.

Furthermore, the second cyclones arranged along an inner circumferenceof the first cyclone 110 may be in contact with the innercircumferential surface of the first cyclone 110. Specifically, an innercircumferential surface of the housing 111 adjacent to each other and anouter circumferential surface corresponding to a cylindrical portion ofthe casing 121 may be in contact with each other.

According to the arrangement, the second cyclone 120 may be efficientlyprovided within the first cyclone 110. In particular, the second cyclone120 of the present embodiment may not have a guide passage extendingfrom one side of the second cyclone in the related art, and thus alarger number of second cyclones 120 may be provided within the firstcyclone 110. Accordingly, even if the second cyclone 120 has a structurein which the second cyclone 120 is accommodated into the first cyclone110, a number of the second cyclones 120 may not be decreased comparedto the related art, thereby preventing a deterioration of cleaningperformance.

A cover member (or cover) 130 may be provided at an upper portion of thesecond cyclone 120. The cover member 130 may cover the entrance ports120 a of the second cyclones 120 at preset intervals to form a secondspace (S2) communicating with the first space (S1) between the covermember 130 and the entrance portion 120 a. The second space (S2) mayextend in a horizontal direction on the second cyclone 120, and maycommunicate with the entrance portion 120 a of the second cyclone 120.According to such a communication relationship, air introduced into thefirst cyclone 110 may be introduced into the entrance portion 120 a atan upper portion of the second cyclone 120 through the first space (S1)and the second space (S2).

A vortex finder 122 that discharges air from which fine dust isseparated may be provided at an upper center of the second cyclone 120.Due to such an upper structure, the entrance portion 120 a may bedefined as an annular space between an inner circumference of the secondcyclone 120 and an outer circumference of the vortex finder 122.

The entrance portion 120 a of the second cyclone 120 may include a guidevane 123 spirally extended along an inner circumference thereof. Theguide vane 123 may be provided on an outer circumference of the vortexfinder 122 or integrally formed with the vortex finder 122. The guidevane 123 may generate rotational flow in air flowing into the secondcyclone 120 through the entrance portion 120 a.

Considering the flow of air and fine dust introduced into the entranceportion 120 a in detail, fine dust may gradually flow downward whilespirally circulating along an inner circumference of the second cyclone120, and may be finally discharged through the discharge port 120 b andcollected into the second storage section (D2). Furthermore, airrelatively lighter than fine dust may be discharged to the vortex finder122 at an upper portion thereof by the suction power of the fan module.

According to the above structure, contrary to the related art in which ahigh-speed rotation flow is generated in a biased manner to one regionby a guide passage extended from one side of the second cyclone, arelatively uniform rotation flow may be generated over almost an entireregion of the entrance portion 120 a. Accordingly, a localizedhigh-speed flow not occur compared to a second cyclone structure in therelated art, thereby reducing flow loss due to this.

A plurality of guide vanes 123 may be provided therein, and may bespaced apart from each other at regular intervals along an outercircumference of the vortex finder 122. Each guide vane 123 may startfrom the same position at an upper portion of the vortex finder 122 andextend to the same position at a lower portion thereof.

For an example, four guide vanes 123 may be respectively provided at 90°intervals along an outer circumference of the vortex finder 122. Alarger or smaller number of guide vanes 123 may be of course provideddepending on a design change, and at least part of any one of the guidevanes 123 may overlap with another guide vane 123 in a verticaldirection of the vortex finder 122.

Furthermore, the guide vane 123 may be provided within the first cyclone110. According to such an arrangement, a flow within the second cyclone120 may occur within the first cyclone 110. As a result, it may bepossible to reduce noise due to the flow within the second cyclone 120.

A lower diameter of the vortex finder 122 may be smaller than an upperdiameter thereof. According to such a configuration, an area of theentrance port 120 a may be decreased to increase an inflow speed intothe second cyclone 120, thereby limiting fine dust introduced into thesecond cyclone 120 from being discharged through the vortex finder 122along with the air.

According to FIG. 3, a tapered portion 122 a, a diameter of whichgradually decreases as it goes toward an end portion thereof, may beformed at a lower portion of the vortex finder 122. On the contrary, thevortex finder 122 may be formed in such a manner that a diameter thereofgradually decreases from an upper portion to a lower portion thereof.

On the other hand, a communication hole 130 a corresponding to thevortex finder 122 may be formed on the cover member 130. The covermember 130 may cover an inner space of the first cyclone 110 excludingthe vortex finder 122. Though not shown in the drawing, the cover member130 may include a protruding portion inserted into the vortex finder 122and formed with a communication hole 130 a therein.

An upper cover 140 may be provided on the cover member 130. The uppercover 140 may form an upper appearance of the dust collector 100. Theupper cover 140 may include an intake guide 140 a that introduces airsucked from the outside into the dust collector 100 and an exhaust guide140 b that discharges air discharged through a communication hole 130 ato an outside of the dust collector 100. An inlet 140 a′ and an outlet140 b″ may be respectively formed on the upper cover 140 for the inflowand outflow of air. According to the present drawing, the inlet 140 a′may face forward, and the outlet 140 b″ may face backward.

Air discharged through the outlet 140 b″ of the dust collector 100 maybe discharged to the outside through an exhaust port of the cleaner body10. A porous prefilter configured to filter ultrafine dust from the airmay be installed on a passage extended from the outlet of the dustcollector 100 to the exhaust port of the cleaner body 10.

On the other hand, the discharge port 120 b of the second cyclone 120may pass through a bottom surface 111 b of the first cyclone 110. Athrough hole for the insertion of the second cyclone 120 may be formedon the bottom surface 111 b of the first cyclone 110.

A lower portion of the first cyclone 110 may include an inner case 150to accommodate the discharge port 120 b to form a second storage section(D2) that collects fine dust discharged through the discharge port 120b. The second storage section (D2) may be also referred to as a finedust storage section in terms of forming a storage space for fine dust.A lower cover 160, which will be described later, may form a bottomsurface of the second storage section (D2).

The inner case 150 may cover a bottom surface 111 b of the first cyclone110, and may accommodate the discharge port 120 b of the second cyclone120 therein. The inner case 150 may extend toward a lower portion of theouter case 101. The inner case 150 may have a bowl shape provided with atapered portion having a narrower cross-sectional area at a lower endthan an upper end thereof and a gradually reduced cross-sectional areaas it goes downward.

The inner case 150 may be coupled to the housing 111 of the firstcyclone 110 by a fastening device (e.g., bolt, hook, adhesive, etc.).Alternatively, the inner case 150 may be integrally formed with thehousing 111.

On the other hand, foreign matter and dust filtered through the firstcyclone 110 may be collected into the first storage section (D1) locatedbelow the first cyclone 110. The first storage section (D1) may be alsoreferred to as a foreign-matter-dust storage section in terms of forminga space to store foreign matter and dust.

In the present drawing, the first storage section (D1) defined by theouter case 101 and a pressurizing unit (or compactor) 170 may surroundthe second storage section (D2). A bottom surface of the first storagesection (D1) may be formed by the lower cover 160 which will bedescribed later. Various flows (for example, an upward flow due to therotation of the pressurizing portion (or blade) 172 provided in thepressurizing unit 170) including a high-speed rotational flow due to thesuction power of the fan module are mixed within the dust collector 100.

Such complicated flows may also be a hindrance to the inflow of foreignmatter and dust into the first storage section (D1). Furthermore, evenif dust is collected in the first storage section (D1), dust may floatwithin the first storage section (D1) due to vortex or the like. Due toa structure in which an annual space between the outer case 101 and thefirst cyclone 110 should be communicated with a space between the outercase 101 and the first storage section (D1) to collect foreign matterand dust, a case may occur where dust floating in the first storagesection (D1) flows backward into the annular space according tocircumstances. This may deteriorate the cleaning performance of thevacuum cleaner 1 as well as dust collecting performance.

Hereinafter, a structure capable of guiding the inflow of foreign matterand dust filtered by the first cyclone 110 into the first storagesection (D1) and preventing dust collected in the first storage section(D1) from flowing backward will be described. A guide unit or screw 180may be provided at a lower side of the first cyclone 110. The guide unit180 may guide the inflow of foreign matter and dust filtered by thefirst cyclone 110 into the first storage section (D1) and prevent dustcollected in the first storage section (D1) from being moved (i.e.,flowing backward) to the first cyclone 110. The guide unit 180 mayinclude a base 181 and a vane 182. The base 181 and the vane 182 may beintegrally formed by injection molding.

The base 181 may be formed in a cylindrical shape similar to the housing111. An outer circumferential surface of the base 181 may be parallel toan axial direction of the outer case 101. The vane 182 may protrude froman outer circumference of the base 181 toward an inner circumferentialsurface of the outer case 101 and spirally extend from an upper sidethereof toward a lower side thereof. The vane 182 may be spirallyextended along a flow direction of air introduced into the dustcollector 100 and circulated along an inner circumference of the outercase 101.

In order to implement this, the vane 182 may be inclined in a directioncorresponding to a side of the outlet 140 a″ of the intake guide 140 aprovided in the upper cover 140, which will be described later. Here,the corresponding direction denotes that when the side of the outlet 140a″ of the intake guide 140 a has a negative slope, the vane 182 has anegative slope.

When the vane 182 is formed to have such a directionality, foreignmatter and dust contained in air, which spirally circulates andgradually flows down in an annular space between the outer case 101 andthe first cyclone 110, may be naturally introduced into the firststorage section (D1) at a lower side of the guide unit 180 along thevane 182. In other words, the vane 182 may guide the inflow of foreignmatter and dust into the first storage section (D1).

The air introduced into the guide unit 180 may spirally circulate alongthe vane 182 and gradually flow downward. Due to this flow, dustintroduced into the vane 182 or dust collected in the first storagesection (D1) may not flow backward to a side of the first cyclone 110due to the flow.

The vane 182 may protrude from an outer circumferential surface of thefirst cyclone 110 and may be provided adjacent to an innercircumferential surface of the outer case 101. Due to this arrangement,a space provided at an upper side of the guide unit 180 (an annularspace between the outer case 101 and the first cyclone 110) may bepartitioned from a space provided at a lower side of the guide unit 180(the first storage section (D1)).

A plurality of vanes 182 may be spaced apart from each other at regularintervals along an outer circumference of the guide unit 180. Each vane182 may start from the same position at an upper portion of the guideunit 180, and extend to the same position at a lower portion thereof.According to this, a substantially uniform rotational flow may begenerated over an entire region of the annular space between the outercase 101 and the guide unit 180. Accordingly, it may be possible toreduce flow loss.

Any one vane 182 of the plurality of vanes 182 may be arranged in such amanner that at least part of the vane 182 overlaps with another vane 182in a vertical direction of the guide unit 180. According to the abovestructure, even if a vertical flow toward the first cyclone 110 isinstantaneously formed in the vane 182 or the first storage section(D1), it may be blocked by the overwrapping vane 182 at an upper side,thereby restricting an inflow to a side of the first cyclone 110.

Of course, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. A lower end ofone vane 182 of the plurality of vanes 182 may be formed apart from anupper end of another guide vane 182 along an outer circumference of theguide unit 180. In other words, they may not overlap with each other ina vertical direction of the guide unit 180.

Referring to FIG. 3, both the first storage section (D1) and the secondstorage section (D2) may open toward a lower side of the outer case 101.A lower cover 160 may be coupled to the outer case 101 to cover theopening portions of the first storage section (D1) and the secondstorage section (D2), and configured to form a bottom surface of thefirst storage section (D1) and the second storage section (D2).

As described above, the lower cover 160 may be coupled to the outer case101 to open and close a lower portion thereof. According to the presentembodiment, the lower cover 160 may be coupled to the outer case 101through a hinge 161 to open and close a lower portion of the outer case101 according to the rotation. However, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto, and the lower cover 160 may be completely detachablycoupled to the outer case 101.

The lower cover 160 may be coupled to the outer case 101 to form abottom surface of the first storage section (D1) and the second storagesection (D2). The lower cover 160 may be rotated by the hinge 161 tosimultaneously discharge dust and fine dust to simultaneously open thefirst storage section (D1) and the second storage section (D2). When thelower cover 160 is rotated by the hinge 161 to open the first storagesection (D1) and the second storage section at the same time, it may bepossible to discharge dust and fine dust at the same time.

On the other hand, when dust accumulated in the first storage section(D1) is not collected in one place but dispersed, dust may be scatteredor discharged to an unintended place during the process of dischargingthe dust. In order to overcome such a problem, the present embodiment ismade to reduce a volume of dust by pressurizing the dust collected inthe first storage section (D1) using the pressurizing unit 170.

The pressurizing unit 170 may be rotatable in both directions in thefirst storage section D1. The pressurizing unit 170 may include arotating portion or shaft 171 and a pressurizing portion or blade 172.The rotating portion 171 may surround at least part of the inner case150 and may receive a driving force from a drive unit or drive 50 (referto FIG. 16) of the cleaner body 10 through a driving force transmissionunit or transmission 163 to be relatively rotatable with respect to theinner case 150. The rotating portion 171 may be rotatable in a clockwiseor counter-clockwise direction, or both directions.

An inner shape of the rotating portion 171 surrounding the inner case150 may correspond to an outer shape of the inner case 150. According tothe above structure, when the pressurizing unit 170 is rotated, theinner case 150 may hold the center of rotation. Accordingly, therotation of the pressurizing unit 170 may be more stably carried outwithout a separate member to hold the center of rotation of the rotatingportion 171.

The rotating portion 171 may be rotatable when engaged with the innercase 150. To this end, an engaging portion configured to support therotating portion 171 with respect to a gravity direction may be formedon an outer circumference of the inner case 150. The engaging portionmay be formed in various forms such as a projection, a hook, or thelike.

According to the above structure, the rotating portion 171 may beengaged with the inner case 150, and then even if the lower cover 160 isrotated by the hinge 161 to open the first storage section (D1), thepressurizing unit 170 may be fixed in place. A fastening groove 171 b tocouple with a fastening member 163 b of the driving force transmissionunit 163, which will be described later, may be formed on a lower innercircumference of the rotating portion 171.

The pressurizing portion 172 may protrude in a radial direction from therotating portion 171, and may rotate within the first storage section(D1) in accordance with the rotation of the rotating portion 171. Thepressurizing portion 172 may be formed in a plate shape. Dust collectedin the first storage section (D1) may be moved to one side of the firststorage section (D1) by the rotation of the pressurizing portion 172 andcollected therein, and when a lot of dust may be accumulated, the dustis pressurized and compressed by the pressurizing portion 172.

The pressurizing portion 172 may include a ventilation hole 172 a forcommunicating air. The ventilation hole 172 a may be formed on thepressurizing portion 172, and even if the pressurizing portion 172rotates in the first storage section (D1), a pressure balance betweenboth side regions of the pressurizing portion 172 divided by thepressurizing portion 172 may be adjusted, thereby suppressing an upwardflow due to the rotation of the pressurizing portion 172.

An inner wall 101 b that collects dust moved to one side by the rotationof the pressurizing portion 172 may be provided in the first storagesection (D1). In the present embodiment, it is shown that the inner wall101 b may extend in a radial direction from a lower inner circumferenceof the outer case 101. Dust introduced into the first storage section(D1) may be collected on both sides of the inner wall 101 b by therotation of the pressurizing portion 172.

The lower cover 160 may include the driving force transmission unit 163connected to the drive unit 50 provided on the cleaner body 10 when thedust collector 100 is mounted on the cleaner body 10, and connected tothe pressurizing unit 170 when the lower cover 160 is mounted to cover alower opening of the outer case 101. The drive unit 50 may include adrive motor 51 and a drive gear 52 connected to the drive motor 51 to berotatable. At least part of the drive gear 52 may be exposed from thecleaner body 10 in such a manner that the drive gear 52 is configured tocouple with a driven gear 163 a of the driving force transmission unit163, which will be described later, when the dust collector 100 ismounted on the cleaner body 10.

The driving force transmission unit 163 may be rotated by receiving adriving force from the drive unit 50 provided in the cleaner body 10,and may include a driven gear 163 a and a fastening member (or fasteninggear) 163 b. The driven gear 163 a may be exposed to a lower portion ofthe lower cover 160 and configured to be rotatable with respect to thelower cover 160. The driven gear 163 a may couple with the drive gear 52to receive a driving force of the drive motor 51 when the dust collector100 is coupled to the cleaner body 10.

The fastening member 163 b may be engaged with the driven gear 163 a tobe rotatable along with the driven gear 163 a. The fastening member 163b may be exposed to an upper portion of the lower cover 160 and fastenedto the fastening groove 171 b provided on an inner circumference of therotating portion 171 when the lower cover 160 is coupled to the outercase 101. The fastening member 163 b may have a gear shape in which aplurality of fastening grooves 171 b are provided to be spaced apartfrom each other at regular intervals on an inner circumference of therotating portion 171, and the fastening member 163 b may include aplurality of protrusion portions inserted into the fastening grooves 171b. Considering such a shape, the fastening member 163 b may be referredto as a fastening gear.

A sealing unit (or seal) 164 may be mounted on the fastening member 163b. The sealing unit 164 may cover a lower opening of the inner case 150when the lower cover 160 is coupled to the outer case 101. In otherwords, the sealing unit 164 may form a bottom surface of the secondstorage section (D2), thereby preventing the collected fine dust frombeing introduced into a side of the driving force transmission unit 163.

The sealing unit 164 may be configured not to rotate during the rotationof the driving force transmission unit 163. In other words, even if thedriving force transmission unit 163 is rotated, the sealing unit 164 maybe fixed to cover a lower opening of the inner case 150. A portion ofthe sealing unit 164 in contact with the lower opening of the inner case150 may be formed of an elastic material to seal.

According to the above structure, when the lower cover 160 is coupled tothe outer case 101, the driving force transmission unit 163 may beconnected to the pressurizing unit 170 of the dust collector 100, andwhen the dust collector 100 is connected to the cleaner body 10, thedriving force transmission unit 163 may be connected to the drive unit50 of the cleaner body 10. In other words, a driving force generatedfrom the drive unit 50 may be transmitted to the pressurizing unit 170through the driving force transmission unit 163.

At this time, the rotation of the drive motor 51 may repeatedly performa bidirectional rotation of the pressurizing portion 172. For example,the drive motor 51 may rotate in an opposite direction when a repulsiveforce is applied in a direction opposite to the rotational direction. Inother words, when the pressurizing portion 172 rotates in one directionto compress dust collected in one side at a predetermined level, thedrive motor 51 may rotate in the other direction to compress the dustcollected in the other side.

When there is (almost) no dust, the pressurizing portion 172 may collidewith the inner wall 101 b to receive a corresponding repulsive force orreceive a repulsive force by a stopper structure provided on a rotatingpath of the pressurizing portion 172 to rotate in an opposite direction.On the contrary, the controller within the cleaner body 10 may apply acontrol signal to the drive motor to change a rotational direction ofthe pressurizing portion 172 at regular intervals, thereby repeatedlygenerating the bidirectional rotation of the pressurizing portion 172.

By the pressurizing unit 170, dust collected in the first storagesection (D1) may be gathered or compressed in a predetermined region.Therefore, it may be possible to suppress the scattering of dust duringthe process of throwing away dust, and remarkably reduce a possibilityof being discharged to an unintended place.

Hereinafter, a structure in which the guide unit 180 is connected to thepressurizing unit 170 to be rotatable will be described. Referring toFIGS. 4 through 6 along with the previous drawings, the guide unit 180may be connected to the pressurizing unit 170 and configured to berotatable in at least one direction along with the pressurizing unit170. In terms of configuring the guide unit 180 to be rotatable, theguide unit 180 may also be referred to as a rotating unit.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the guide unit 180 rotates in acounter-clockwise direction (to the right) corresponding to an extensiondirection in a lower side of the vane 182, foreign matter and dust inair introduced into the vane 182 may be moved downward by the rotationof the vane 182. Accordingly, the foreign matter and dust that have beenintroduced into the vane 182 may be more easily collected into the firststorage section (D1). Furthermore, even if the foreign matter collectedin the first storage section (D1) is introduced into the vane 182, itmay be pushed back by the rotation of the vane 182. Considering that aflow spirally circulating and gradually flowing downward is generated onthe vane 182, the backflow of foreign matter and dust may be even moredifficult.

On the contrary, when the guide unit 180 rotates in a clockwisedirection (to the left) corresponding to an extending direction in anupper side of the vane 182, foreign matter and dust in air introducedinto the vane 182 may be moved upward by the rotation of the vane 182.However, since a flow spirally circulating and gradually flowingdownward is generated on the vane 182, it may be difficult for such amovement and a resultant backflow of foreign matter and dust to occur.

However, when the guide unit 180 rotates in a direction corresponding toan extending direction at an upper side of the vane 182, the followingstructure may be added in consideration of the possibility of a backflowof foreign matter. As illustrated in the drawing, a backflow limitingrib 101 a inclined in a direction intersecting the vane 182 may protrudefrom an inner circumferential surface of the outer case 101 facing thevane 182. A plurality of backflow limiting ribs 101 a may be providedspaced apart at preset intervals along an inner circumferential surfaceof the outer case 101.

The backflow limiting rib 101 a may be integrally formed with the outercase 101 by injection molding. However, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. The backflow limiting rib 101 a may be formed as aseparate member from the outer case 101, and attached to an innercircumferential surface of the outer case 101.

Due to the formation of the backflow limiting rib 101 a, foreign matterflowing backward from the first storage section (D1) into the vane 182may be caught by the backflow limiting rib even if the foreign matter ismoved upward by the rotation of the vane 182. Accordingly, foreignmatter may not completely flow backward to an upper side of the guideunit 180, to be collected again into the first storage section (D1).

When either one of the vane 182 and the backflow limiting rib 101 a hasa positive slope with respect to a rotating shaft of the guide unit 180,the other one may have a negative slope. In FIG. 4, it is shown in thedrawing that the vane 182 has a negative slope, and the backflowlimiting rib 101 a is formed to have a positive slope. According to theabove structure, the guide unit 180 may rotate in a clockwise direction(to the left) corresponding to the extending direction of the vane 182,so that the foreign object in the first storage section (D1) rides onthe vane 182 Even if it rises, it may be continuously caught in thebackflow limiting rib 101 a to drop.

Of course, the inclination relationship of the vane 182 and the backflowlimiting rib 101 a is not limited to the above example. The backflowlimiting rib 101 a may be provided in parallel to a rotating shaft ofthe guide unit 180. In other words, the backflow limiting rib 101 a maybe provided perpendicular to the lower cover 160. Alternatively, thebackflow limiting rib 101 a may be inclined along a flow direction ofair introduced into the outer case 101 similarly to the vane 182.

On the other hand, the rotation of the guide unit 180 may be carried outby coupling the guide unit 180 to the pressurizing unit 170. In otherwords, as described above, the pressurizing unit 170 may be rotated byreceiving a driving force from the drive unit 50 through the drivingforce transmission unit 163, and thus the guide unit 180 coupled to thepressurizing unit 170 may also be rotated at the same time during therotation of the pressurizing unit 170.

Specifically, the base 181 of the guide unit 180 may be coupled to therotating portion 171 of the pressurizing unit 170. The coupling betweenthe base 181 and the rotating portion 171 may be achieved by variousmethods such as coupling due to bonding, coupling using a hook member,and a coupling using a hook structure.

As illustrated in part (a) of FIG. 7, as foreign matter and dust (D)collected in the first storage section (D1) accumulate, they maygradually become closer to a side of the first cyclone 110. Inparticular, in the case of a bulky foreign matter, even if it iscollected in the first storage section (D1), it may be spread in thefirst storage section (D1) without having an aggregated shape, therebycausing a backflow in an upward direction at a side where the foreignmatter and dust (D) accumulate.

In order to solve such a problem, as illustrated in part (b) of FIG. 7,a roller portion (or roller) 171 a including a lip extending downwardfrom the pressurizing unit 170 with a plurality of ribs extended in aradial direction at preset intervals between the lip and the rotatingportion 171 may be provided on at least one of the guide unit 180 andthe pressurizing unit 170 to face a lower side of the outer case 101.The roller portion 171 a may provide a rotational force to foreignmatter and dust collected in the first storage section (D1) during therotation of at least one of the guide unit 180 and the pressurizing unit170.

In an embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 through 6 including part (b) ofFIG. 7, a plurality of ribs constituting the roller portion 171 a mayrespectively extend in a radial direction at preset intervals to therotating portion 171 facing the lower cover 160. According to theconfiguration, an upper portion of the foreign matter and dust (D)collected in the first storage section (D1) may repeatedly collide withthe plurality of ribs during the rotation of the rotating portion 171.As a result, the foreign matter and dust (D) may be rotated asillustrated in FIG. 7B, and finally the collected foreign matter anddust (D) may be rolled in a state of being agglomerated in asubstantially spherical shape.

As described above, the foreign matter and dust (D) may be agglomeratedin a spherical shape by the roller portion 171 a, and thus it may bepossible to prevent a backflow due to the accumulation of the foreignmatter and dust (D) at a predetermined level. When the pressurizingportion 172 is additionally combined with the roller portion 171 a, theagglomeration and compression of the foreign matter and dust (D) may becarried out at the same time to enhance the collection performance ofthe foreign matter and dust (D), thereby significantly reducing thepossibility of backflow.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the guide unit or screw 280 may have a skirt283 extended downward from an upper portion thereof in an inclineddownward direction. A gap between the skirt 283 and the outer case 201may gradually decrease as it goes from the upper portion to the lowerportion.

As the skirt 283 is formed, foreign matter and dust falling withoutpassing through a mesh filter 212 of the first cyclone 210 may be guidedby the skirt 283 and introduced into the first storage section (D1), butthe foreign matter and dust collected in the first storage section (D1)may be restricted from flowing upward by the skirt 283. In other words,a backflow of foreign matter and dust collected in the first storagesection (D1) may be restricted by the skirt 283.

Considering a structure in which the skirt 283 is provided in the guideunit 280 in more detail, the guide unit 280 may include a base 281, theskirt 283, and a vane 282. The base 281, the skirt 283, and the vane 282may be integrally formed by injection molding. The base 281 may becoupled to a rotating portion 271 of the pressurizing unit 270. The base281 may be formed in parallel to an axial direction of the outer case201.

The skirt 283 may extend downward in an inclined manner outward from anupper portion of the base 281. Accordingly, a gap between the skirt 283and the base 281 may gradually increase as it goes from the upperportion to the lower portion. Though not shown in the drawing, aplurality of ribs forming the foregoing roller portion may extend in aradial direction in the gap between the base 281 and the skirt 283.

The vane 282 may protrude from the skirt 283 toward an innercircumferential surface of the outer case 201, and spirally extend fromthe upper side toward the lower side. The vane 282 may be introducedinto the dust collector 200 and may spirally extend along a flowdirection of air circulating along an inner circumference of the outercase 201.

According to the drawing, the base 281 and the skirt 283 may bedistinguished from each other in shape. However, the present disclosureis not limited thereto. As a modified example, the base 281 and theskirt 283 may be configured as one portion in which the base 281 and theskirt 283 are not separated from each other (a gap between the base 281and the skirt may be filled), and it may be referred to as a skirtportion. An inner side of the skirt portion may be coupled to therotating portion 271, and an outer side thereof may be inclineddownward.

On the other hand, most of the foreign matter or dust that has notpassed through the first cyclone 110 may fall down and be collected inthe first storage section (D1), but according to circumstances, foreignmatter or dust may be caught or accumulated and fixed on the mesh filter112. It may reduce an area of the mesh filter 112 allowing air to passtherethrough, thereby increasing a load on the fan module that providessuction power as well as visually giving a non-clean impression to theuser.

In order to solve this problem, a method of disassembling and cleaningthe dust collector may be taken into consideration, but it may causeusage inconveniences to the user. There may also be a problem thatcleaning is not easy, in fact, due to a structure in which a portionwhere the first cyclone is provided is partitioned from the firststorage section (for example, partitioned by the vane 182 of the guideunit 180 or a skirt which will be described later).

Hereinafter, a structure capable of continuously removing foreign matterand dust from being caught or accumulated on the mesh filter 112 duringthe operation of the vacuum cleaner 1 will be described. Referring toFIGS. 10 through 12, a rotating unit or screw 380 may be coupled to thepressurizing unit 370 to rotate along with the pressurizing unit 370. Asillustrated in the drawing, the rotating unit 380 may surround at leastpart of the first cyclone 310, and may be relatively rotatable withrespect to the first cyclone 310 in at least one direction.

The rotating unit 380 may scratch or sweep off foreign matter and dustcaught or accumulated on the mesh filter 312 of the first cyclone 310during rotation. In order to implement this, the rotating unit 380 mayinclude a lower frame 381, an upper frame 385, and a pillar 383. Thelower frame 381 may be coupled to the rotating portion 371 of thepressurizing unit 370, and formed in a cylindrical shape at a lowerportion or lower side of the first cyclone 310. For example, a lowerframe 381 may surround a lower end of the first cyclone 310.

In the present embodiment, the lower frame 381 may be similar to thebase 181 of the guide unit 180 described above. The lower frame 381 maybe formed in parallel to an axial direction of the outer case 301. Thevane 382 may protrude from the lower frame 381 toward the innercircumferential surface of the outer case 301. The vane 382 may spirallyextend from the upper side toward the lower side. The vane 382 may beintroduced into the dust collector 300 and extend in a spiral shapealong a flow direction of air circulating along an inner circumferenceof the outer case 301.

The upper frame 385 may be spaced upward from the lower frame 381 by apredetermined distance and formed to surround an upper end of the firstcyclone 310. The pillar 383 may cover the mesh filter 312 and extendalong a vertical direction of the mesh filter 312 and connect to thelower frame 381 and the upper frame 385, respectively. In other words,the lower frame 381 may be connected to a lower end of the pillar 383,and the upper frame 385 may be connected to an upper end of the pillar383 so as to surround part of the first cyclone 310 as a whole.

A plurality of pillars 383 may be provided therein, and provided atpreset intervals along an outer circumference of the first cyclone 310.As a result, an opening may be formed between adjacent two pillars 383,and the mesh filter 312 may be exposed through the opening. Accordingly,air spirally flowing through an annular space between the outer case 301and the first cyclone 310 may pass through the mesh filter 312 exposedthrough the opening and flow into the first cyclone 310.

When the pressurizing unit 370 receives a driving force of the driveunit 50 from the driving force transmission unit 363 to rotate, therotating unit 380 connected to the pressurizing unit 370 may be rotatedalong with the pillar 383, and at this time, the pillar 383 moves alongan outer circumference of the mesh filter 312. A scraper 384 may beprovided on an inner surface of the pillar 383 facing an outer surfaceof the mesh filter 312. The scraper 384 may have a shape extended alonga length direction of the pillar 383, and may cross the mesh filter 312in a vertical direction on the mesh filter 312.

The scraper 384 may scrape off or sweep up foreign matter and dustaccumulated on the mesh filter 312 during the rotation of the rotatingunit 380. To this end, the scrapers 384 may be in contact with the meshfilter 312. The scraper 384 may be configured as a brush, formed of anelastic material, or formed of a synthetic resin material similar to thepillar 383.

When the scraper 384 is configured as a brush, the brush may be insertedinto a gap of the mesh filter 312 to effectively remove foreign matteror dust accumulated on the gap. When the scraper 384 is configured as abrush, the scraper 384 may be inserted into a slot formed along anextension direction of the pillar 383 and fixed to the pillar 383.

The scraper 384 may be formed of an elastic material (e.g., rubber,silicone, etc.), and integrally coupled to the pillar 383 by doubleinjection molding. When the scraper 384 is formed of an elasticmaterial, the scraper 384 may be brought into close contact with themesh filter 312 to effectively sweep off foreign matter accumulated onthe mesh filter 312.

The scraper 384 may be formed of the same synthetic resin material asthe pillar 383 and integrally formed with the pillar 383 by injectionmolding. The scraper 384 may protrude along an extension direction ofthe pillar 383. In this case, the rotating unit 380 having a singlematerial provided with the scraper 384 may be manufactured through oneinjection molding. On the other hand, the backflow limiting rib 101 adescribed in conjunction with the embodiment of FIGS. 2 through 7 andthe modified example of FIG. 8 may be combined with the vane 382 of thepresent embodiment.

Describing it in brief, the backflow limiting rib 101 a inclined in adirection intersecting the vane 382 may protrude on an innercircumferential surface of the outer case 301 facing the vane 382. Aplurality of backflow limiting ribs 101 a may be spaced apart at presetintervals along an inner circumferential surface of the outer case 301.

Due to the formation of the backflow limiting rib 101 a, foreign matterflowing backward from the first storage section (D1) into the vane 182may be caught by the backflow limiting rib even if the foreign matter ismoved upward by the rotation of the vane 182. Accordingly, foreignmatter may not completely flow backward to an upper side of the guideunit 180, and may be collected again into the first storage section(D1).

Hereinafter, a modified example of the rotating unit 480 will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 13 through 16. Referring to FIGS. 13through 16, the rotating unit 480 may include a lower frame 481, anupper frame 485, a pillar 483, a scraper 484, and a skirt 486. Themodified example may have the same structure as the rotating unit 480described in the previous embodiment excluding the skirt 486 and aroller portion (or roller) 481 a. As a result, the redundant descriptionthereof will be omitted.

The skirt 486 extended outward in an inclined downward direction mayprotrude on the lower frame 481. Accordingly, a gap between the skirt486 and the lower frame 481 may gradually increase as it goes from theupper portion to the lower portion. As the skirt 486 is formed, foreignmatter and dust falling without passing through a mesh filter 412 of thefirst cyclone 410 may be guided by the skirt 486 and introduced into thefirst storage section (D1), but the foreign matter and dust collected inthe first storage section (D1) may be restricted from flowing upward bythe skirt 486. In other words, a backflow of foreign matter and dustcollected in the first storage section (D1) may be restricted by theskirt 486.

However, since the gap between the outer case 401 and the skirt 486decreases toward the lower side, it may cause a problem in which foreignmatter may be caught in the gap when a size of the foreign matter islarge. This may prevent other foreign matter and dust from flowing intothe first storage section (D1) through the gap.

However, in the present modified example, the rotating unit 480 may becoupled with the pressurizing unit 470, and may be rotatable along withthe pressurizing unit 470, and thus even if foreign matter is caught ina gap between the skirt 486 and the outer case 401, the foreign mattermay be released by the rotation of the rotating unit 480. The foreignmatter released from the gap may be introduced into the first storagesection (D1) by rotational flow due to the driving of the vacuum cleaner1.

On the other hand, roller portions 481 a, 471 a configured as aplurality of ribs extended in a radial direction at preset intervals maybe provided on at least one of the rotating unit 480 and thepressurizing unit 470. On the present drawing, a first roller portion481 a and a second roller portion 471 a may be provided in the rotatingunit 480 and the pressurizing unit 470, respectively.

Describing the first roller portion 481 a first, a plurality of ribsforming the first roller portion 481 a may be formed in a gap betweenthe lower frame 481 and the skirt 486 in a radial direction. Theplurality of ribs may face a lower cover thereof. A plurality of ribsconstituting the second roller portion 471 a may extend in a radialdirection at preset intervals on the rotating portion 471 facing thelower cover. As the rotating unit 480 may surround at least part of thepressurizing unit 470, the first roller portion 481 a may surround thesecond roller portion 471 a.

According to the above configuration, an upper portion of foreign matterand dust collected in the first storage section (D1) during the rotationof the pressurizing unit 470 and the rotating unit 480 coupled theretomay collide repeatedly with the plurality of ribs constituting the firstand second roller portions 481 a, 471 a. As a result, the foreign matterand dust may be rotated, and finally the collected foreign matter anddust may be rolled in a state of being agglomerated in a substantiallyspherical shape.

The first and second roller portions 481 a, 471 a may have differentheights with respect to the lower cover 460. In the present embodiment,the first roller portion 481 a may be located above the second rollerportion 471 a. According to the above structure, the first or secondrolls 481 a, 471 a corresponding to an accumulation height of foreignobjects and dust may be suitably used to agglomerate the foreign matterand dust in a spherical shape. In other words, the first roller portion481 a may be used to agglomerate foreign matter and dust having arelatively larger volume than the second roller portion 471 a into aspherical shape.

However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The first andsecond roller portions 481 a, 471 a may have the same height withrespect to the lower cover 460. In this case, a plurality of ribsconstituting the first roller portion 481 a and a plurality of ribsconstituting the second roller portion 471 a may cross each other alonga rotational direction.

As illustrated above in FIG. 1, the vacuum cleaner 1 may be configuredin such a manner that air including foreign matter, dust, fine dust, andultrafine dust, which are sucked through the suction unit 20, isdirectly introduced into the dust collector 100 without passing throughthe cleaner body 10. To this end, an upper cover 140 of the dustcollector 100 may include an inlet and an outlet to introduce anddischarge air, respectively, and the inlet may be directly connected tothe connection unit 30 connected to the suction unit 20.

Hereinafter, the upper cover 140 having both an inlet and an outlet willbe described in more detail. Referring to FIGS. 17 through 21 along withFIGS. 1 through 3, the upper cover 140 may be mounted on an upper sideof the outer case 101 to cover the cover member 130. Accordingly, theupper cover 140 may cover both the first and second cyclones 110, 120.The upper cover 140 may form an upper appearance of the dust collector100.

The upper cover 140 may include an intake guide 140 a and an exhaustguide 140 b which form passages separated from each other. The intakeguide 140 a may form a passage to introduce air into the outer case 101,and the exhaust guide 140 b may form a passage to discharge air fromwhich foreign matter, dust and fine dust have been separated whilepassing through the first and second cyclones 110, 120.

The intake guide 140 a and the exhaust guide 140 b may have an inlet 140a′, 140 b′ and an outlet 140 a″, 140 b″, respectively. According to thepresent drawing, the inlet 140 a′ of the intake guide 140 a may be openin a direction opposite to the outlet 140 b″ of the exhaust guide 140 b.

The connection unit 30 connected to the suction unit 20 suck aircontaining foreign matter, dust and fine dust may be directly connectedto the inlet of the intake guide 140 a. The outlet of the intake guide140 a may be formed on a bottom surface of the upper cover 140 tocommunicate with an annular space between the outer case 101 and thefirst cyclone 110. At least part of the intake guide 140 a may be bentand extended toward an inner circumference of the outer case 101 in sucha manner that air introduced through the inlet 140 a′ performs aswirling movement in a spiral shape when flowing into the annular space.

In the present embodiment, the intake guide 140 a may be formed as asingle passage. In other words, the intake guide 140 a may include oneinlet 140 a′ and one outlet 140 a″. As a result, when compared with amodified example which will be described later, a cross-sectional areaof the intake guide 140 a may be increased to further reduce aphenomenon in which a large foreign matter is caught thereinside, andsolve a problem of interference between structures and electroniccomponents adjacent to the upper cover 140 at a predetermined level dueto the simplification of the structure of the intake guide 140 a.

The inlet of the exhaust guide 140 b may be formed on a bottom surfaceof the upper cover 140 to communicate with an inner space of the vortexfinder 122 located in the second cyclone 120. Referring to FIGS. 2 and3, the cover member 130 may include a communication hole 130 acorresponding to the vortex finder 122, and thus the inlet of theexhaust guide 140 b may communicate with the communication hole 130 a.

The inlet 140 b′ of the exhaust guide 140 b may be formed on both sidesof the intake guide 140 a forming a single passage. The outlet 140 b″ ofthe exhaust guide 140 b may communicate with the inlet 140 b′ of theexhaust guide 140 b formed on both sides of the intake guide 140 a.

Air discharged through the outlet 140 b″ of the exhaust guide 140 b maybe discharged directly to the outside or discharged to the outsidethrough the exhaust port of the cleaner body 10 as illustrated inFIG. 1. In the latter case, a porous prefilter configured to filterultrafine dust from the air may be installed on a passage extended fromthe outlet 140 b″ of the dust collector 100 to the exhaust port of thecleaner body 10.

As described above, when the intake guide 140 a is formed with a singleflow path, and the exhaust guide 140 b is formed using a vacant space ofthe intake guide 140 a, it may be possible to provide the upper cover140 having a secure suction efficiency. The upper cover 140 having theforegoing structure may be integrally formed by injection molding. Asillustrated in FIG. 17, the upper cover 140 may be injection molded bythree molds, which are assembled and separated in three directions, suchas an inlet side (M1) of the intake guide 140 a, an outlet side (M2) ofthe exhaust guide 140 b, and a bottom side (M3) of the upper cover 140.

Parting lines due to injection molding in the three directions may berespectively formed on the upper cover 140. Accordingly, it may bepossible to check how the upper cover 140 is manufactured (i.e., whetheror not the upper cover 140 is manufactured by injection molding in thesame manner as that of the present embodiment) based on the partingline. A problem in injection molding of the upper cover 140 depends onhow to form the intake guide 140 a and the exhaust guide 140 b. Inparticular, when each of the intake guide 140 a and the exhaust guide140 b is formed in three dimensions, a passage may be formed by at leasttwo molds, and the two molds must be able to meet with each other.

Referring to FIG. 20, the intake guide 140 a may be formed by two moldsassembled in two directions, such as the inlet side (M1) of the intakeguide 140 a and the bottom side (M3) of the upper cover 140. A region inwhich the two molds meet with each other is M13, and a parting line maybe formed in the region.

Moreover, the exhaust guide 140 b may be formed by two molds assembledin two directions, such as the outlet side (M2) of the exhaust guide 140b and the bottom side (M3) of the upper cover 140. A region in which thetwo molds meet with each other is M23 provided on both sides of theintake guide 140 a, and a parting line may be formed in the region. Inthis manner, the upper cover 140 formed with the intake guide 140 a andthe exhaust guide 140 b may be injection molded at one time using threemolds. Accordingly, it may be possible to increase the mass productionof the upper cover 140.

Hereinafter, a modified example of an upper cover 540 in which an intakeguide 540 a is configured with one inlet 540 a′ and two outlets 540 a1″, 540 a 2″ will be described. Similarly to the foregoing embodiment,the upper cover 540 of the present modified example may cover the covermember 130 at an upper side of the outer case 101. Accordingly, theupper cover 540 may cover both the first and second cyclones 110, 120.The upper cover 540 may form an upper appearance of the dust collector100.

Referring to FIGS. 22 to 26, the upper cover 540 may include an intakeguide 540 a and an exhaust guide 540 b forming passages separated fromeach other. The intake guide 540 a may form a passage to introduce airinto the outer case 101, and the exhaust guide 540 b may form a passageto discharge air from which foreign matter, dust and fine dust have beenseparated while passing through the first and second cyclones 110, 120.

The intake guide 540 a and the exhaust guide 540 b may include an inlet540 a′, 540 b′ and an outlet 540 a 1″, 540 a 2″/540 b″, respectively.According to the present drawing, the inlet 540 a′ of the intake guide540 a may have a shape that is open in a direction opposite to theoutlet 540 b″ of the exhaust guide 540 b.

The present modified example is different from the foregoing embodimentin that the intake guide 540 a may have one inlet 540 a′ and two outlets540 a 1″, 540 a 2″. The inlet 540 a′ of the intake guide 540 a may bedirectly connected to the connection unit 30 connected to the suctionunit 20 to suck air containing foreign matter, dust and fine dust. Thetwo outlets 540 a 1″, 540 a 2″ of the intake guide 540 a may be formedon a bottom surface of the upper cover 540 to communicate with anannular space between the outer case 101 and the first cyclone 110.

The intake guide 540 a may include a branch wall 540 a 3, and a firstand a second branch passages 540 a 1, 540 a 2. The branch wall 540 a 3may be formed at a position facing the inlet of the intake guide 540 a.Accordingly, air introduced through the inlet of the intake guide 540 amay collide with the branch wall 540 a 3 to be scattered to both sidesof the branch wall 540 a 3.

The branch wall 540 a 3 may be formed perpendicular to the inlet 540 a′of the intake guide 540 a. In this case, the air that has collided withthe branch wall 540 a 3 may be evenly distributed to the left and rightsides of the branch wall 540 a 3. However, in this case, due to a flowof air into the inlet 540 a′ of the intake guide 540 a, foreign mattermay become attached to the branch wall 540 a 3 facing the inlet 540 a′to be stagnant.

In order to prevent this, as illustrated in the drawing, the branch wall540 a 3 may be formed to be angled with respect to the inlet 540 a′ ofthe intake guide 540 a. In other words, the branch wall 540 a 3 may beformed in a shape such that the left or right side thereof is angledcloser to the inlet. According to the above structure, it may beconfigured such that foreign matter is movable along the angled branchwall 540 a 3, thereby solving a foreign matter stagnation phenomenon ina structure in which the branch wall 540 a 3 is formed perpendicular tothe inlet 540 a′ of the intake guide 540 a.

The first and second branch passages 540 a 1, 540 a 2 may be provided atboth sides of the branch wall 540 a 3, and bent on at least part thereofand extended toward an inner circumference of the outer case 101 toperform a swirling movement in a spiral shape when air is introducedinto an annular space between the outer case 101 and the first cyclone110.

The first and second branch passages 540 a 1, 540 a 2 may extend inmutually the same rotational direction. In order to implement this,either one of the first and second branch passages 540 a 1, 540 a 2 mayform a passage toward a rear side of the branch wall 540 a 3 and theother one may form a passage toward a front side of the branch wall 540a 3.

The inlet 540 b′ of the exhaust guide 540 b 540 a 1, 540 a 2 formed on abottom surface of the upper cover 540 to communicate with an inner spaceof the vortex finder 122 located in the second cyclone 120. As describedabove, when the communication hole 130 a corresponding to the vortexfinder 122 is formed on the cover member 130, the inlet 540 b′ of theexhaust guide 540 b may communicate with the communication hole 130 a.

The outlet 540 b″ of the exhaust guide 540 b may communicate with theinlet 540 b′ of the exhaust guide 540 b. Air discharged through theoutlet 540 b″ of the exhaust guide 540 b may be directly discharged tothe outside, and discharged to the outside through an exhaust port ofthe cleaner body 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1. In the latter case, aporous prefilter configured to filter ultrafine dust from the air may beinstalled on a passage extended from the outlet of the dust collector100 to the exhaust port of the cleaner body 10.

Referring to FIGS. 27 and 28, the inner case 650 may be coupled to alower portion of a housing 611 forming an outer shape of the firstcyclone 610. The inner case 650 may include a partition wall 651 toseparate a space in which air is introduced into the first cyclone 610and a space (i.e., second storage section (D2)) in which fine dustdischarged through a discharge port 620 b of the second cyclone 620 isstored. The partition wall 651 may be referred to as a functionalseparator.

A through hole 651 a into which the second cyclone 620 is inserted maybe formed on the partition wall 651. A lower portion of the secondcyclone 620 may pass through the partition wall 651 through the throughhole 651 a. The discharge port 620 b formed at a lower end of the secondcyclone 620 may be provided below the partition 651. Therefore, finedust discharged through the discharge port 620 b may be stored in thesecond storage section (D2) below the partition wall 651.

When the partition wall 651 is compared with the foregoing bottomsurface 111 b, 211 b, 411 b of the first cyclone 110, 210, 310, 410,each may have the same function excluding that a formation positionthereof is the inner case 650 other than the housing 111, 211 of thefirst cyclone 110, 210, 310, 410. Accordingly, a space separationstructure due to the partition wall 651 of the present embodimentinstead of a space separation structure due to the bottom surface 111 b,211 b, 411 b may be also applicable to the foregoing embodiments.

A stationary protrusion 652 to which a stationary ring 680 which will bedescribed later is coupled may protrude from a lower end portion of theinner case 650. A plurality of stationary protrusions 652 may beprovided to be spaced apart from each other along an outer circumferenceof the inner case 650.

A rotating member or shell 670 may surround at least part of the innercase 650. To this end, the rotating member 670 may include anaccommodation portion or opening 670 a corresponding to an outer shapeof the inner case 650. As illustrated in the drawing, when the innercase 650 has a bowl shape provided with a tapered portion having anarrower cross-sectional area at a lower end than an upper end thereofand a gradually reduced sectional area as it goes downward, theaccommodation portion 670 a may also be formed in a bowl shapecorresponding thereto.

An extension portion (or lip) 671 may be formed on a bottom surface ofthe rotating member 670 facing the lower cover 660 to extend downwardalong a rotational direction of the rotating member 670. The extensionportion 671 may be formed in a circular shape on a bottom surface of therotating member 670 corresponding to the tapered portion of theaccommodating portion 670 a.

The rotating member 670 may be rotatable around the fixed inner case650. The rotating member 670 may receive a driving force to rotate fromthe drive unit 50 (refer to FIG. 16) of the cleaner body through thedriving force transmission unit 663. The rotating member 670 may berotatable in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, namely, in bothdirections.

The rotating member 670 of the present embodiment may be understood as aconfiguration in which the pressurizing units 170, 270 and the guideunits 180, 280 of the foregoing embodiments are integrally formed interms of geometry. The rotating member 670 may be formed as a singlemember by injection molding.

Referring to FIGS. 29 through 31 along with FIGS. 27 and 28 illustratedin the above, the rotating member 670 may have a skirt portion or skirt672 that extends downward from an upper portion thereof in an inclineddownward direction. A gap between the skirt portion 672 and the outercase 601 may gradually decrease it goes from the upper portion to thelower portion. As the skirt portion 672 is formed, foreign matter anddust falling without passing through a mesh filter 612 of the firstcyclone 610 may be introduced into the first storage section (D1) belowthe skirt portion 672, but the foreign matter and dust collected in thefirst storage section (D1) may be restricted from flowing upward by theskirt portion 672. In other words, a backflow of foreign matter and dustcollected in the first storage section (D1) may be restricted by theskirt portion 672.

However, since the gap between the outer case 601 and the skirt portion672 decreases toward the lower side, foreign matter may become caught inthe gap between the outer case 601 and the skirt portion 672 when a sizeof the foreign matter is large. This may prevent other foreign matterand dust from flowing into the first storage section (D1).

However, in the present modified example, the rotating member 670 may berotatable, and thus even if foreign matter becomes caught in a gapbetween the skirt 672 and the outer case 601, the foreign matter may bereleased by the rotation of the rotating member 670. The foreign matterreleased from the gap between the skirt 672 and the outer case 601 maybe introduced into the first storage section (D1) by rotational flow dueto the driving of the vacuum cleaner 1.

According to the present drawing, the skirt portion 672 may extenddownward in an inclined manner from an upper end of the rotating member670 to the outside, and a gap 670 b may be formed thereinside. The gap670 b may gradually increase from an upper portion of the skirt portion672 toward a lower portion thereof. The skirt portion 672 may beprovided above the extension portion 671. In other words, a lower end ofthe skirt portion 672 may be located above a lower end of the extensionportion 671.

A protruding portion or screw vane 673 may be formed on an outercircumferential surface of the skirt portion 672 facing an innercircumferential surface of the outer case 601. The protruding portion673 may allow a user to intuitively know whether or not the rotatingmember 670 rotates by looking at the protruding portion 673 beingrotated during the rotation of the rotating member 670.

For an example, the protruding portion 673 may extend in an inclinedmanner along a circumference of the skirt portion 672. Here, theinclination includes both a linear-shaped and spiral-shaped slope. Theprotruding portion 673 may include a plurality of ribs provided to bespaced apart from each other along the circumference of the skirt 672.Each of the ribs may extend in an inclined manner along a flow directionof air circulating along an inner circumference of the outer case 601.Each rib may protrude by a uniform height from the skirt portion 672along an extension direction.

Here, the protruding portion 673 may protrude by a length shorter thanthat of the vane 182, 282, 382 of the foregoing embodiments.Accordingly, the protruding portion 673 may allow the user tointuitively know whether or not the rotating member 670 rotates ratherthan performing a guide function such as the vane 182, 282, 382, andthus may be understood as a geometrical screw. For another example, theprotruding portion 673 may be formed of a plurality of protrusionsprotruded from an outer circumferential surface of the skirt portion672. The plurality of protrusions may be spaced apart at presetintervals.

A recess portion in place of the protruding portion 673 may be formed onthe skirt portion 672. In other words, the recess portion may be formedin a recessed shape inwardly from an outer circumferential surface ofthe skirt portion 672 to perform the role of allowing the user tointuitively know whether or not the rotating member 670 rotates bylooking at the protruding portion 673 being rotated during the rotationof the rotating member 670. The recess portion may extend in anelongated manner or may be configured with a combination of recessedgrooves in a dot shape.

The rotating member 670 may include a roller portion or roller 674 whichrolls foreign matter and dust collected in the first storage section(D1) to be agglomerated. The roller portion 674 may include a pluralityof ribs spaced apart from each other on one surface of the rotatingmember 670 facing the lower cover 660. The plurality of ribs may extendin a direction intersecting a rotational direction of the rotatingmember 670.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of ribs constituting the rollerportion 674 may be provided apart from each other at regular intervalsalong an inner circumference of the extension portion 671, and each ofthe plurality of ribs may be provided in a radial direction of therotating member 670. According to the above arrangement, when therotating member 670 is seen from the bottom, the plurality of ribsconstituting the roller portion 674 have a radially extended shapearound a rotating shaft of the rotating member 670.

During the rotation of the rotating member 670, the plurality of ribsconstituting the roller portion 674 may be sequentially brought intocontact with an upper portion of foreign matter and dust collected inthe first storage section (D1). The foreign matter and dust may receivea rotational force due to the contact to be rolled in a state of beingagglomerated in a substantially spherical shape according to arotational direction of the rotating member 670.

A pressurizing portion or blade 677 may protrude from the rotatingmember 670 in a radial direction. The pressurizing portion 677 may crossthe annular first storage section (D1) in a radial direction, and mayrotate in the first storage section (D1) according to the rotation ofthe rotating member 670. The pressurizing portion 677 may be formed in aplate shape. Dust collected in the first storage section (D1) may bemoved by the rotation of the pressurizing portion 677 and collected atan inner wall 601 b, and when a large amount of dust is accumulated, thedust may be pressurized and compressed by the pressurizing portion 677.

Referring to FIG. 32 along with FIGS. 27 through 31, the rotating member670 may be rotatably coupled to the inner case 650. For the coupling,the stationary ring 680 may be fastened to the stationary protrusion 652protruded from a lower end of the inner case 650 when the inner case 650is accommodated in the accommodation portion 670 a of the rotatingmember 670.

The stationary ring 680 may include a locking hole (or locking groove)681 formed in an annular shape and surrounding a lower end portion ofthe inner case 650, and into which the stationary protrusion 652 may beinserted. The stationary ring 680 may include a cut-out portion 682 toelastically deform a stationary portion. The stationary ring 680 may beformed of a synthetic resin material or a metal material.

A locking protrusion 675 may protrude from a lower inner circumferenceof the rotating member 670. The locking protrusion 675 may protrude froman inside of the accommodation portion 670 a, and extend along the innercircumference.

The locking protrusion 675 may be provided on the stationary ring 680 ina state that the stationary ring 680 is fastened to a lower end portionof the inner case 650. In other words, the stationary ring 680 may coverat least part of the locking projection 675 from the bottom when thelocking ring 680 is mounted on the inner case 650. Therefore, even ifthe lower cover 660 is rotated by a hinge to open the first storagesection (D1), the locking protrusion 675 may be caught and supported bythe stationary ring 680 to keep the rotating member 670 coupled to theinner case 650.

On the other hand, a stopper 653 may be provided at an upper end of theinner case 650, and provided to cover an upper end of the rotatingmember 670. An upward movement of the rotating member 670 may berestricted by the stopper 653. In other words, a mounting position ofthe rotating member 670 with respect to the inner case 650 may belimited by the stationary ring 680 and the stopper 653.

Referring to FIGS. 33 and 34 along with FIGS. 27 through 32 above, thelower cover 660 may include a driving force transmission unit ortransmission 663. The driving force transmission unit 663 may beconnected to the drive unit 50 (refer to FIG. 16) provided in thecleaner body 10 when the dust collector 600 is mounted on the cleanerbody 10, and the lower cover 660 may be connected to the rotating member670 when mounted to cover a lower opening of the outer case 601. Inother words, the driving force transmission unit 663 may be connected tothe drive unit 50 of the cleaner body 10 and the rotating member 670,respectively, and configured to transmit a rotational driving force tothe rotating member 670.

The drive unit 50 may include a drive motor 51 and a drive gear 52connected to the drive motor 51 to be rotatable. At least part of thedrive gear 52 may be exposed from the cleaner body 10 in such a mannerthat the drive gear 52 is configured to couple with a driven gear 663 aof the driving force transmission unit 663, which will be describedlater, when the dust collector 600 is mounted on the cleaner body 10.The driving force transmission unit 663 may be rotated by receiving adriving force from the drive unit 50 provided in the cleaner body 10,and may include a driven gear 663 a and a fastening gear 663 b.

The driven gear 663 a may be exposed to a lower portion of the lowercover 660 and configured to be rotatable with respect to the lower cover660. The driven gear 663 a may couple with the drive gear 52 to receivea driving force of the drive motor 51 when the dust collector 600 iscoupled to the cleaner body 10. The driven gear 663 a may be spacedapart by a predetermined distance (for example, 0.01-0.5 mm) from abottom surface of the lower cover 660.

The fastening gear 663 b may be coupled to the driven gear 663 a, andconfigured to be rotatable along with the driven gear 663 a. In otherwords, the fastening gear 663 b may rotate at the same RPM (RevolutionPer Minute) as that of the driven gear 663 a. A boss portion or boss 663a′ provided at the center of the driven gear 663 a may protrude througha hole 660 a, and the fastening gear 663 b may be fastened to the bossportion 663 a′ at an upper portion of the lower cover 660.

A fastening between the driven gear 663 a and the fastening gear 663 bmay be achieved by a hooking or fastening member (e.g., screw, rivet,etc.). The fastening member may be fastened to the driven gear 663 athrough the fastening gear 663 b or reversely, fastened to the fasteninggear 663 b through the driven gear 663 a.

Here, a bearing 663 c to reduce a frictional force may be inserted ontothe boss portion 663 a′ exposed to an upper portion of the lower cover660, and the bearing 663 c may be brought into contact with thefastening gear 663 b.

The fastening gear 663 b may be provided on an upper portion of thelower cover 660 to couple with the fastening protrusion 676 provided ona lower inner circumference of the rotating member 670 when the lowercover 660 is coupled to the outer case 101. A gear portion having aplurality of teeth 663 b′ may be provided at an upper portion of thefastening gear 663 b in such a manner that the fastening protrusion 676can be inserted between the plurality of teeth.

A sealing portion or seal 663 b″ may extend along an outer circumferenceof the fastening gear 663 b below the gear portion 673 b′ in thefastening gear 663 b. The sealing portion 663 b″ may be brought intocontact with a lower inner circumferential surface of the rotatingmember 670 to prevent foreign matter or dust from being introduced intothe rotating member 670. The sealing portion 663 b″ may include a rubbermaterial, a silicone material, and the like. The sealing portion 663 b″may restrict foreign matter or dust from being introduced into a side ofthe driving force transmission unit 663, thereby enhancing the drivingreliability of the driving force transmission unit 663.

At least one or more circular ribs 660 b, 660 c around the hole 660 a onwhich the driven gear 663 a is mounted may be formed on a bottom surfaceof the lower cover 660. The circular ribs 660 b, 660 c may prevent dustand foreign matter collected in the first storage section (D1) fromflowing thereinto. As illustrated in the drawing, when the sealingportion 663 b″ surrounds the circular rib 660 b, it may be possible tomore effectively block the inflow of foreign matter.

A plurality of circular ribs 660 b, 660 c may be may be providedthereon, and provided in a concentric shape, and a filler 660 d may beinserted into an annular space defined by the circular ribs 660 b, 660c. A fabric (e.g., a felt material) may be used as the filler 660 d. Thefiller 660 d may support the driven gear 663 a and capture dust orforeign matter flowing into the inside.

A sealing unit or cap 664 may be mounted on the fastening gear 663 b.The sealing unit 664 may be fastened to the fastening gear 663 b by ahook coupling method. A fastening between the sealing unit 664 and thefastening gear 663 b may be of course achieved through a separatefastening member.

The sealing unit 664 may cover a lower opening of the inner case 650when the lower cover 660 is coupled to the outer case 101. A portion ofthe sealing unit 664 brought into contact with a lower opening of theinner case 650 may be formed of an elastic material to seal. The sealingunit 664 may form a bottom surface of the second storage section (D2),thereby preventing the collected fine dust from being introduced into aside of the driving force transmission unit 663.

The sealing unit 664 may be movable in an axial direction (i.e.,vertical direction) with respect to the fastening gear 663 b. Accordingto the above configuration, when the vacuum cleaner 1 is driven, thesealing unit 664 may not rotate along with the driving forcetransmission unit 663 even if the driving force transmission unit 663 isrotated (i.e., even if the fastening gear 663 b is rotated). In otherwords, when the vacuum cleaner 1 is driven, the sealing unit 664 may becoupled to the fastening gear 663 b, but placed in a non-rotating stopstate.

Specifically, when the vacuum cleaner 1 is driven in a state that thesealing unit 664 covers a lower opening of the inner case 650, thesealing unit 664 may be lifted up to an upper side of the fastening gear663 b due to a pressure difference (in a state that a vacuum pressure isapplied) and closely fixed to the inner case 650. Accordingly, thesealing unit 664 may not be rotated along with the fastening gear 663 b.In other words, even if the driving force transmission unit 663 isrotated, the sealing unit 664 may be fixed to cover a lower opening ofthe inner case 650. However, when the driving of the vacuum cleaner 1 issuspended to release a pressure difference (in a state that a vacuumpressure is released), the sealing unit 664 may be seated on thefastening gear 663 b to rotate along with the fastening gear 663 b.

According to the above structure, when the lower cover 660 is coupled tothe outer case 101, the driving force transmission unit 663 may beconnected to the rotating member 670 of the dust collector 600, and whenthe dust collector 600 is coupled to the cleaner body 10, the drivingforce transmission unit 663 may be connected to the drive unit 50 of thecleaner body 10. Thus, a driving force generated from the drive unit 50may be transmitted to the rotating member 670 through the driving forcetransmission unit 663.

At this time, the rotation of the driving motor 51 may repeatedlygenerate a bidirectional rotation of the rotating member 670. Forexample, the drive motor 51 may rotate in an opposite direction when arepulsive force is applied in a direction opposite to the rotationaldirection. The repulsive force may be generated by the pressurizingportion 677. When the pressurizing portion 677 rotates in one directionto compress dust collected in one side at a predetermined level, thedrive motor 51 may rotate in the other direction due to a repulsiveforce by the compression to compress the dust collected in the otherside.

When there is (almost) no dust, the pressurizing portion 677 may collidewith the inner wall 601 b to receive a corresponding repulsive force orreceive a repulsive force by a stopper structure provided on a rotatingpath of the pressurizing portion 667 to rotate in an opposite direction.On the contrary, the controller within the cleaner body 10 may apply acontrol signal to the drive motor to change a rotational direction ofthe pressurizing portion 677 at regular intervals, thereby repeatedlygenerating the bidirectional rotation of the pressurizing portion 677.

By the pressurizing portion 677, dust collected in the first storagesection (D1) may be gathered or compressed in a predetermined region.Therefore, it may be possible to suppress the scattering of dust duringthe process of throwing away dust, and remarkably reduce a possibilityof being discharged to an unintended place.

The rotating member 770 of the present modified example slightly differsfrom the rotating member 670 of the previous embodiment in the shape ofthe protruding portion. Referring to FIGS. 35 through 38, an extensionportion or extension 771 may extend downward and may be formed along arotational direction of the rotating member 770 on a bottom surface ofthe rotary member 770 facing the lower cover. According to the presentdrawing, the extension portion 771 may be formed in a circular shape onthe bottom surface of the rotating member 770 corresponding to a taperedportion of the accommodating portion 770 a.

The rotating member 770 may include a skirt portion or skirt 772extended downward in an outwardly inclined manner from an upper portionthereof. According to the present drawing, the skirt portion 772 mayextend downward in an inclined manner from an upper end of the rotatingmember 770 to the outside, and a gap 770 b may be formed thereinside.The gap 770 b may gradually increase from an upper portion of the skirtportion 772 toward a lower portion thereof. The skirt portion 772 may beprovided above the extension portion 771. In other words, a lower end ofthe skirt portion 772 may be located above a lower end of the extensionportion 771.

A protruding portion or screw vane 773 may be formed on an outercircumferential surface of the skirt portion 772 facing an innercircumferential surface of the outer case 701. The protruding portion773 may allow a user to intuitively know whether or not the rotatingmember 770 rotates by looking at the protruding portion 773 beingrotated during the rotation of the rotating member 770.

The protruding portion 773 may extend in an inclined manner along acircumference of the skirt portion 772. Here, the inclination mayinclude both a linear-shaped and spiral-shaped slope. The protrudingportion 773 may include a plurality of ribs spaced apart from each otheralong the circumference of the skirt 772. Each of the ribs may beintroduced into the dust collector 700 and extend in an inclined manneralong a flow direction of air circulating along an inner circumferenceof the outer case 701.

Each of the ribs may be formed in such a manner that an extent of beinggradually protruded from the skirt portion 772 along an extensiondirection increases and then decreases again. In other words, each ofthe ribs may gradually increase in height from an upper end of the skirtportion 772 to have a maximum protrusion height at a middle portionthereof, and then gradually decrease in height to a lower end of theskirt portion 772. Thus, each of the ribs may have a rounded shapetoward the outside.

Here, the protruding portion 773 may protrude by a length shorter thanthat of the vane 182, 282, 382 of the foregoing embodiments.Accordingly, the protruding portion 773 may allow the user tointuitively know whether or not the rotating member 770 rotates ratherthan performs a guide function such as the vane 182, 282, 382, and thusmay be understood as a geometrical screw.

The rotating member 770 may include a roller portion or roller 774 whichrolls foreign matter and dust collected in the first storage section(D1) to be agglomerated. The roller portion 774 may include a pluralityof ribs spaced apart from each other on one surface of the rotatingmember 770 facing the lower cover. The plurality of ribs may extend in adirection intersecting a rotational direction of the rotating member770.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of ribs constituting the rollerportion 774 may be provided apart from each other at regular intervalsalong an inner circumference of the extension portion 771, and each ofthe plurality of ribs may be provided in a radial direction of therotating member 770. According to the above arrangement, when therotating member 770 is seen from the bottom, the plurality of ribsconstituting the roller portion 774 may have a radially extended shapearound a rotating shaft of the rotating member 770.

A pressurizing portion or blade 777 may protrude from the rotatingmember 770 in a radial direction. The pressurizing portion 777 may crossthe annular first storage section (D1) in a radial direction, and mayrotate in the first storage section (D1) according to the rotation ofthe rotating member 770. The pressurizing portion 777 may be formed in aplate shape. Dust collected in the first storage section (D1) may bemoved by the rotation of the pressurizing portion 777 and collected atan inner wall 701 b, and when a large amount of dust is accumulated, thedust may be pressurized and compressed by the pressurizing portion 777.

Referring to FIGS. 39 through 42, a skirt portion or skirt 872 may beprovided at an upper portion of the rotating member 870. The skirtportion 872 may have a shape in which a first skirt 872 a and a secondskirt 872 b having a trapezoidal shape are connected in a stepped mannerby a connection portion 872 c and repeatedly arranged along acircumference of the rotating member 870. The first skirt 872 a and thesecond skirt 872 b may have the same shape and size.

The first and second skirts 872 a, 872 b may gradually extend in aninclined manner to the outside as they go from the upper portion to thelower portion, and formed to be gradually away from the rotating shaftalong any one rotational direction of the rotation members 870.Accordingly, a gap between the first skirt 872 a and the second skirt872 b may gradually increase as it goes from the upper portion to thelower portion.

The connection portion 872 c may connect the first skirt 872 a and thesecond skirt 872 b. The connection 872 c may extend inwardly from thefirst skirt 872 a and may be connected to the second skirt 872 b. Theconnection portion 872 c may have a shape in which an area thereofgradually increases as it goes from the upper portion to the lowerportion.

The skirt portion 872 may have a corrugated shape as the skirt portion872 is configured with a combination of the first skirt 872 a, theconnection portion 872 c and the second skirt 872 c. Since the skirtportion 872 has a corrugated shape in terms of appearance, the user mayview the skirt portion 872 being rotated during the rotation of therotating member 870 to intuitively know whether or not the rotatingmember 870 rotates.

The skirt portion 872 may also be referred to as a protruding arrayportion from a morphological point of view. The protruding array portionmay be formed by repeatedly arranging a first portion (corresponding tothe first and second skirts 872 a, 872 b having the same shape and size)extending gradually away from the rotating shaft along any onerotational direction of the rotating member 870 and a second portion(corresponding to the connection portion 872 c) extending from the firstportion toward the rotating shaft along a circumference of the rotatingmember 870.

As described above, the skirt portion 872 may be also described by theconfiguration of the protruding array portion. For example, the firstportion may gradually extend outwardly in an inclined manner as it goesfrom the upper portion to the lower portion, and the second portion maygradually increase in area as it goes from the upper portion to thelower portion.

As a gap between the skirt portion 872 and the outer case (refer toreference numeral 601 in FIG. 27) gradually decreases as it goes fromthe upper portion to the lower portion of the skirt portion 872, abackflow of foreign matter and dust may be restricted. According to thepresent drawing, the first and second skirts 872 a, 872 b may extenddownward in an outwardly inclined manner from an upper end of therotating member 870 to form a gap 870 b between the inner wall formingthe accommodating portion 870 a and the first and second skirts 872 a,872 b.

Moreover, during the rotation of the rotating member 870, the skirtportion 872 may roll foreign matter and dust collected in the firststorage section (D1) to be agglomerated. Specifically, a lower end ofthe skirt portion 872 may be formed in a shape in which bottom surfaces872 a′, 872 c′, 872 b′ formed by the first skirt 872 a, the connectionportion 872 c, and the second skirt 872 b are repeatedly connected.

Here, the bottom surfaces 872 a′, 872 b′ of the first and second skirts872 a, 872 b may have a shape substantially following a rotationaldirection of the rotating member 870, but the bottom surfaces 872 c ‘ ofthe connection portion 872 c may have a shape crossing (approximatelyperpendicular) a rotational direction of the rotating member 870. Thebottom surface 872 c’ of the connection portion 872 c may be spacedapart from the rotating member 870 at regular intervals.

Accordingly, when the rotating member 870 rotates along a rotationaldirection (R1) thereof, the bottom surface 872 b′ of the connectionportion 872 c may be located at an outer side of the bottom surface 872b′ of the second skirt 872 b, and brought into contact with foreignmatter and dust collected in the first storage section (D1) to apply arotational force. The foreign object and dust may be repeatedly broughtinto contact with the bottom surface 872 b′ of the connection portion872 c during the rotation of the rotating member 870. Accordingly, theforeign object and the dust may be rolled in the annular first storagesection (D1) in a state of being agglomerated in a substantiallyspherical shape according to a rotational direction of the rotatingmember 870.

On the contrary, when the rotating member 870 rotates along an oppositerotational direction (R2) (when the rotating member 870 rotates in acounter-clockwise direction with reference to FIG. 42), the bottomsurface 872 c′ of the connection portion 872 c may be located at aninner side of the bottom surface 872 a′ formed by the first skirt 872 a,and thus almost no rotational force may be applied to foreign matter anddust collected in the first storage section (D1). Therefore, when therotating member 870 rotates along the opposite rotational direction, therolling of foreign matter and dust may be restricted to a predeterminedlevel.

Therefore, even if the rotating member 870 is rotated in bothdirections, foreign matter and dust collected in the first storagesection (D1) may only be rolled along any one rotational direction toprovide the directionality of rolling. When the agglomerated foreignmatter and dust are also rolled in an opposite direction, the looseningof the agglomerated foreign matter and dust may occur, but when therolling directionality is provided by the structure, it may be possibleto prevent such a phenomenon.

The rolling function will be described below with a configuration of theprotruding array portion. A bottom surface of the second portion mayface the lower cover covering a lower opening of the outer case, and maybe brought into contact with foreign matter and dust collected in thefirst storage section (D1) to apply a rotational force when the rotatingmember 870 rotates in any one rotational direction (R1). The bottomsurface of the second portion may be repeatedly provided along acircumference of the rotating member 870 to be brought into contact withforeign matter and dust collected in the foreign-matter-dust storagesection during the rotation of the rotating member 870. On the otherhand, when the rotating member 870 rotates in the opposite rotationaldirection (R2), the rolling of foreign matter and dust collected in theforeign-matter-dust storage section may be restricted by the firstportion provided in front of the second portion.

A pressurizing portion or blade 877 may protrude from the rotatingmember 870 in a radial direction. The pressurizing portion 877 may crossthe annular first storage section (D1) in a radial direction, and mayrotate in the first storage section (D1) according to the rotation ofthe rotating member 870. The pressurizing portion 877 may be formed in aplate shape. Dust collected in the first storage section (D1) may bemoved by the rotation of the pressurizing portion 877 and collected atthe inner wall of the outer case, and pressurized and compressed by thepressurizing portion 877 when a lot of dust is accumulated.

A vacuum cleaner may include a cleaner body; and a dust collectorprovided in the cleaner body, wherein the dust collector includes afirst cyclone provided within an outer case to filter foreign matter anddust from air introduced from an outside thereof and introduce the airfrom which foreign matter and dust have been filtered thereinto; asecond cyclone accommodated within the first cyclone to separate finedust from the air introduced into the first cyclone; and a rotatingmember provided at a lower side of the first cyclone and configured tobe rotatable so as to define a first storage section configured tocollect foreign matter and dust filtered by the first cyclone betweenthe rotating member and the outer case, and wherein the rotating memberis provided with a roller portion provided to face a lower cover thatcovers a lower opening of the outer case, and be brought in contact withforeign matter and dust collected in the first storage section duringthe rotation of the rotating member to apply a rotational force.

The roller portion may include a plurality of ribs provided to be spacedapart from each other along a rotational direction of the rotatingmember, and sequentially brought into contact with foreign matter anddust collected in the first storage section during the rotation of therotating member. Each of the plurality of ribs may extend in a radialdirection at preset intervals.

An extension portion may be formed on a bottom surface of the rotatingmember facing the lower cover to extend downward along a rotationaldirection of the rotating member, and the plurality of ribs may beprovided to be spaced apart from each other along an inner circumferenceof the extension portion. The rotating member may be further providedwith a skirt portion extended downward in an outwardly inclined mannerfrom an upper portion thereof.

A protruding portion or recess portion may be formed around the skirtportion. The protruding portion or recess portion may extend in aninclined manner along an circumference of the skirt portion. Theprotruding portion or recess portion may be dot-shaped protrusions orgrooves provided to be spaced apart at regular intervals.

A driving force transmission unit connected to a drive unit provided inthe cleaner body and the rotating member, respectively, to transmit arotational driving force to the rotating member may be mounted on thelower cover. The driving force transmission unit may include a drivengear exposed to a lower portion of the lower cover, and engaged with adriving gear of the drive unit when the dust collector is mounted on thecleaner body; and a fastening gear connected to the driven gear at anupper portion of the lower cover, and fastened to the rotating memberwhen the lower cover is mounted to cover a lower opening of the outercase.

The fastening gear may include a gear portion engaged with a fasteningprotrusion provided on a lower inner circumference of the rotatingmember when the lower cover is mounted to cover a lower opening of theouter case; and a sealing portion provided below the gear portion toextend in a loop shape along an outer circumference of the fasteninggear, and closely brought into contact with a lower innercircumferential surface of the rotating member.

The vacuum cleaner may further include an inner case provided at a lowerportion of the first cyclone to accommodate a discharge port of thesecond cyclone and form a second storage section for collecting finedust discharged through the discharge port therein, and accommodatedinto an accommodation portion of the rotating member, wherein a sealingunit provided to cover a lower opening of the inner case when the lowercover is mounted to cover a lower opening of the outer case to form abottom surface of the second storage section is mounted on the fasteninggear. The sealing unit may be lifted up to an upper side of thefastening gear due to a pressure difference during the operation of thevacuum cleaner so as not to rotate.

The vacuum cleaner may further include an inner case provided at a lowerportion of the first cyclone to accommodate a discharge port of thesecond cyclone and form a second storage section for collecting finedust discharged through the discharge port therein, and accommodatedinto an accommodation portion of the rotating member; and a stationaryring mounted to surround a lower end portion of the inner case in astate that the inner case is accommodated in the accommodation portionto support a locking protrusion protruded from an inner circumference ofa lower end portion of the rotating member. The rotating member mayinclude a pressurizing portion protruding in a radial direction andprovided to intersect the annular first storage section in a radialdirection, and configured to rotate in the first storage sectionaccording to the rotation of the rotating member.

A vacuum cleaner may include a cleaner body; and a dust collectorprovided in the cleaner body, wherein the dust collector includes afirst cyclone provided within an outer case to filter foreign matter anddust from air introduced from an outside thereof and introduce the airfrom which foreign matter and dust have been filtered thereinto; asecond cyclone accommodated within the first cyclone to separate finedust from the air introduced into the first cyclone; and a rotatingmember provided at a lower side of the first cyclone and configured tobe rotatable so as to define a first storage section configured tocollect foreign matter and dust filtered by the first cyclone betweenthe rotating member and the outer case, and wherein the rotating memberis provided with a plurality of ribs provided to face a lower cover thatcovers a lower opening of the outer case, and provided to be spacedapart from each other along a rotational direction of the rotatingmember. Each of the plurality of ribs may extend in a radial directionat preset intervals.

An extension portion may be formed on a bottom surface of the rotatingmember facing the lower cover to extend downward along a rotationaldirection of the rotating member, and the plurality of ribs may bespaced apart from each other along an inner circumference of theextension portion. The rotating member may be further provided with askirt portion extended downward in an outwardly inclined manner from anupper portion thereof. A protruding portion or recess portion may beformed around the skirt portion.

The second cyclone may be completely accommodated into the first cycloneto reduce a height of the dust collector. In this arrangement, a guidevane may be provided at an entrance port of the second cyclone to causerotational flow to the air introduced into the second cyclone, and thusa separate guide passage extended from one side of the second cyclonemay be not required, and as a result, it may be possible to arrange moresecond cyclones within the first cyclone. Therefore, even though thesecond cyclone is accommodated within the first cyclone, a number of thesecond cyclones may not be reduced when compared to the related art,thereby preventing the deterioration of the cleaning performance.

Foreign matter and dust filtered by the first cyclone may be guided by avane of the guide unit provided below the first cyclone, and introducedinto the first storage unit under the guide unit. Here, the vane may bespirally formed along a flow direction of the air flowing into the outercase, and at least part of one of vanes may be provided to overlap withanother vane in a vertical direction to limit a backflow of foreignmatter and dust.

The guide unit (or rotation unit) provided with a skirt at a lower sideof the first cyclone may be configured to be rotatable in at least onedirection, and thus even though foreign matter is caught in a gapbetween the skirt and the outer case, the foreign matter may be releasedby the rotation of the rotating unit. The foreign matter released fromthe gap may be introduced into the first storage section under the skirtby rotational flow due to the driving of the vacuum cleaner.

At least one of the guide unit (or rotating unit) and the pressurizingunit configured to be rotatable therewith may be provided with a rollerportion configured with ribs facing the lower cover, thereby inducingaggregation between foreign matter and dust. When the roller portion isprovided on each of the guide unit and the pressurizing unit, and eachroller portion is provided at a different height with respect to thelower cover, the roller portion corresponding to an accumulation heightof foreign object and dust may be used to induce aggregation betweenforeign matter and dust. Furthermore, the roller portion may be combinedwith the driving of the pressurizing unit to perform compression as wellas agglomeration between foreign matter and dust.

When the rotating unit rotates with respect to the first cyclone, ascraper provided on a pillar of the rotating unit may be configured tomove along the outer circumference of the first cyclone in contact witha mesh filter, and thus it may be possible to continuously removeforeign matter and dust caught and accumulated on the mesh filter whenthe vacuum cleaner is driven. Therefore, it may be possible to enhancethe performance and maintenance convenience of the dust collector.

An upper cover covering the first and second cyclones may be providedwith an intake guide and an exhaust guide, and a connection unit may bedirectly connected to an inlet of the intake guide. According to this, aflow guide provided in the cleaner body in a side inflow structure inthe related art may not be required to simplify a suction passage andincrease an area of the entrance port when compared to the side inflowstructure. Therefore, a pressure loss may be reduced to enhance suctionefficiency.

When an intake guide is formed with a single passage, and an exhaustguide is configured with an empty space of the intake guide, an uppercover with a suction efficiency may be provided. Furthermore, there isan advantage that an upper cover can be injection-molded at one time bythree molds assembled and separated in three directions at an inlet sideof the intake guide, an outlet side of the exhaust guide and a bottomside of the upper cover. Both the first storage section and the secondstorage section may be open when a lower cover is separated therefrom,it may be possible to discharge dust collected in the first storagesection and fine dust collected in the second storage section at thesame time.

This application relates to U.S. application Ser. No. 15/583,110(Attorney Docket No. P-1511), U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (AttorneyDocket No. P-1513), U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney DocketNo. P-1514), U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No.P-1515), and U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No.P-1516), all filed on May 1, 2017, which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety. Further, one of ordinary skill in the artwill recognize that features disclosed in these above-noted applicationsmay be combined in any combination with features disclosed herein.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vacuum cleaner, comprising: a cleaner body; anda dust collector provided in the cleaner body, wherein the dustcollector includes: a first cyclone provided by an inner case and anouter case to filter first foreign matter from air introduced into thedust collector; a second cyclone having a plurality of hollow bodies inthe inner case to separate second foreign matter from the air filteredfrom the first cyclone; and a rotatable shell provided at a lower sideof the first cyclone and defining a first storage chamber configured tocollect the first foreign matter filtered by the first cyclone betweenthe rotatable shell and the outer case, wherein the rotatable shellincludes a cuff having an edge facing a lower cover that covers a loweropening of the outer case, the cuff configured to contact the firstforeign matter collected in the first storage chamber during therotation of the rotatable shell.
 2. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1,wherein the cuff includes a band and a plurality of ribs spaced apartfrom each other along a rotational direction of the rotatable shell, andsequentially brought into contact with the first foreign mattercollected in the first storage chamber during the rotation of therotatable shell.
 3. The vacuum cleaner of claim 2, wherein each of theplurality of ribs extends in a radial direction at a preset intervalbetween the band and the rotatable shell.
 4. The vacuum cleaner of claim1, wherein the inner case includes a housing having a mesh filter thatfilters the first foreign matter from air passing through the meshfilter.
 5. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the rotatable shellfurther includes a skirt that extends downward and outward from an upperportion of the rotatable shell.
 6. The vacuum cleaner of claim 5,wherein at least one screw vane or recess is formed on the skirt.
 7. Thevacuum cleaner of claim 6, wherein the at least one screw vane or recessextends in an inclined manner along a circumference of the skirt.
 8. Thevacuum cleaner of claim 6, wherein the at least one screw vane or recessincludes dot-shaped protrusions or grooves spaced apart at regularintervals along the circumference of the skirt.
 9. The vacuum cleaner ofclaim 1, wherein a gearing is mounted on the lower cover and connectedto a drive motor of the cleaner body and the rotatable shell,respectively, to transmit a rotational driving force to the rotatableshell.
 10. The vacuum cleaner of claim 9, wherein the gearing includes:a first gear exposed under the lower cover, and engaged with a drivinggear of the drive motor when the dust collector is mounted on thecleaner body; and a second gear connected to the first gear and providedinside the outer case, and engaged with the rotatable shell when thelower cover is mounted to cover the lower opening of the outer case. 11.The vacuum cleaner of claim 10, wherein the second gear includes: atleast one gear tooth engaged with a fastening protrusion provided on alower inner circumference of the rotatable shell when the lower cover ismounted to cover the lower opening of the outer case; and a sealprovided below the at least one gear tooth to extend along an outercircumference of the second gear, and contacting a lower innercircumferential surface of the rotatable shell.
 12. The vacuum cleanerof claim 10, further including: the inner case provided at a lowerportion of the first cyclone form a second storage chamber to collectsecond foreign matter discharged through the discharge port of thesecond cyclone, and accommodated within the rotatable shell, wherein aseal cap is mounted on the second gear and configured to cover the loweropening of the inner case when the lower cover is closed.
 13. The vacuumcleaner of claim 12, wherein the seal cap is configured to be raised dueto a pressure difference during the operation of the vacuum cleaner soas not to rotate with the second gear.
 14. The vacuum cleaner of claim1, further including: the inner case provided at a lower portion of thefirst cyclone to form a second storage chamber to collect the secondforeign matter discharged through the discharge port of the secondcyclone, and accommodated within the rotatable shell; and a stationaryring configured to surround a lower end portion of the inner case whenthe inner case is accommodated in the rotatable shell to support alocking protrusion protruding from an inner circumference of a lower endof the rotatable shell.
 15. The vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein therotatable shell surrounds the inner case and includes a blade protrudingin a radial direction inside the first storage chamber, the blade beingconfigured to rotate in the first storage section according to therotation of the rotatable shell.
 16. A vacuum cleaner, comprising: acleaner body; and a dust collector provided in the cleaner body, whereinthe dust collector includes: a first cyclone provided by an inner caseand an outer case to filter first foreign matter and dust from airintroduced into the dust collector; a second cyclone accommodated withinthe first cyclone to separate second foreign matter from the airfiltered from the first cyclone; and a rotatable shell provided at alower side of the first cyclone so as to define a first storage sectionconfigured to collect foreign matter and dust filtered by the firstcyclone between the rotatable shell and the outer case, and wherein therotatable shell includes a plurality of ribs having an edge facing alower cover that covers a lower opening of the outer case, the pluralityof ribs being spaced apart from each other along a rotational directionof the rotatable shell.
 17. The vacuum cleaner of claim 16, wherein eachof the plurality of ribs extends in a radial direction at presetintervals.
 18. The vacuum cleaner of claim 17, wherein a cuff extendsdownward from the rotatable shell along a rotational direction of therotatable shell, and the plurality of ribs are spaced apart from eachother along an inner circumference of the cuff.
 19. The vacuum cleanerof claim 17, wherein the rotatable shell further includes a skirt thatextends downward and outward from an upper portion of the rotatableshell.
 20. The vacuum cleaner of claim 19, wherein at least one screwvane or recess is formed on the skirt.